


starlight and star-crossed

by hoodlftv



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:35:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28195551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoodlftv/pseuds/hoodlftv
Summary: Calum decided to honour the marriage pact you made as kids 5 years early, but you couldn't pin point why until it was almost too late/
Relationships: Calum Hood/Original Character(s), Calum Hood/You
Kudos: 5





	starlight and star-crossed

You hadn’t expected to spend your 25th birthday moving boxes into a new apartment, breakup with your partner still fresh in your brain. The apartment you were moving into was much smaller by comparison, but it was yours. You didn’t need to compromise about getting another plant, or have to reduce your book collection to make space (though in your last apartment you had a ton of it).

It felt reassuring that you weren’t moving all of the boxes into your apartment alone though. Calum immediately offered to help when he realized your former partner was making you move out on your birthday, though you had suspected that he would have helped regardless. The two of you had been friends since you were four years old, barely old enough to understand the concept of friends, but you both knowing you liked to spend time with each other.

“I feel like a failure,” You huffed, laying down on the couch Calum and you had just positioned.

“Why a failure?” He asked, lifting up your legs so he could sit under them, resting them in his lap.

“I just feel like some loser who followed their partner to a whole different country, only to be left with egg on my face because they dumped me, I don’t know.”

Calum frowned, squeezing your ankle gently to get you to look over at him. Calum’s eyes always held a familiar warmth that made you feel at ease, something you could never have with your previous partner. “That doesn’t mean you failed,” He finally spoke, “It just means that they have no sense, and also lost sight of the fact that you were their biggest supporter in moving to America from Australia.”

You nodded, letting out a soft sigh, leaning your head against the couch, “What if I’m alone forever now?”

Calum gave a dramatic roll of his eyes, pushing your feet off his lap, “Shut up. Finish putting your books onto the bookshelf and I’ll take you for dinner, yeah? It is still your birthday after all.”   
  


It took you another moment of wallowing in your own self-pity before you actually decided to get up, heading over to the boxes stacked by your bookshelf and beginning to organize them. 

You couldn’t remember the last time you had gotten rid of a book; ever since you could remember, you loved books. The ability to get lost in a story, to forget about life for a while. Everything about it, you were completely in love with. The bond between you and Calum became stronger when for some ungodly reason in the fifth grade your class read Bridge to Terabithia, a story that Calum cites still as his first heartbreak. You would sit in the backyard of your childhood home, talking about the harsh realities of life you could hardly fathom. 

You never thought you’d be standing in your own apartment at 25 holding that same book you bonded over while your best friend was in the other room unpacking your dishes. The soft clink of one glass against another brought you from your thoughts, reaching to put the book on the shelf. As you were about to set it down, a slip of paper fell out, making your brows furrow in confusion - you hadn’t remembered leaving your school notes in there, but as you opened the weathered piece of paper, you realized it was much more than that.

_ ‘Should the two of us not be married by the time we turn 30, we solemnly swear that we will marry each other. Why be alone when you can be with your best friend.’ _

The paper was signed by both Calum and you, and it made you laugh that you both had signed that, only to be forgotten about as you grew up and faced adult life - in different parts of the world, but never completely separating from one another. You were blissfully unaware when you signed this piece of paper in your best cursive possible, that the boy who signed alongside you would become an international sensation - though, you always knew he was special, and would do amazing things in his life.

“Almost done?” Calum’s voice broke you out of your reminiscing, you folding the paper up almost immediately and slipping it into your pocket. You weren’t sure why, but you didn’t feel ready to share this blast from the past with him just yet.

  
“Please, do you know me at all? There’s at least three more boxes,” You teased, turning to face him.

“Well, I also know that if you don’t eat soon you will turn into a monster, so.”

Calum narrowly avoided you swatting his arm, his soft laugh carrying through the mostly empty apartment as he headed towards your front door. Shaking your head, you followed behind him, grabbing your keys off the coffee table while the two of you headed out.

One of the only things you were thankful for, aside from the proximity to Calum’s house, was also how close your favourite restaurant was. It may or may not have been one of the selling points for you to that particular apartment, but you’d never admit that.

As you sat down, Calum and you ordered, knowing what you wanted before you even arrived. Once the order had been placed, you fell into a comfortable silence, both glancing at your phones and catching up on any missed text messages from the past few hours.

The piece of paper was burning a hole in your pocket, though, and at the very least for nostalgic purposes you knew you had to show him.

“Hey Cal?” You asked one afternoon, your best friend sat across the table from you on his phone.

“Yeah?”

“When I was putting the books away, something fell out of one of the books,” You chewed your lip nervously, sliding a folded piece of weathered notebook paper across the table.

Calum’s brows knitted together, long fingers grasping at the paper and unfolding it, almost immediately breaking into giggles, “Oh my God, I thought it was my Mum who had this.”

“You thought your  _ Mum _ had it? Why?” You laughed, shaking your head at the thought of Joy keeping a piece of paper vowing that the two of you would get married. “Did you ever think we’d still be friends at 25?”

Calum slapped a hand to his chest, giving you a hurt look, “Of course I did! You’ve been my best friend since I was four, how could we not be?”

“Well, first of all, we argued a lot before you left for tour -”

“That was just you being afraid to lose me.”

“Second of all, you’re an international sensation. It’s not a stretch to think that you would get a taste of fame and forget about me.” Shrugging, you took a long drink of your beer, Calum looking over your face thoughtfully, “What?”

“Let’s do it.” He finally said, tossing the paper onto the table.

“Do what?” You asked, confused at first.

“Let’s just get married. Why do we need to wait until we’re 30?” Calum sat forward, eyes never leaving yours, “Don’t you wanna be stuck with this the rest of your life?” He asked, gesturing to his face.

You bit your lip, nerves washing over you. It’s not that you had never thought of Calum in a romantic sense, of course you had, but there was a rather large difference in having a small crush on your best friend and marrying him. You went to say something back, but he spoke up once again.

“We were just complaining on the way over here about how much it sucks to be single around the Holidays; everyone we went to school with is already married, or engaged, or having a baby. So, why not?”

You let out a soft sigh, leaning your chin in your palm, a slow grin stretching onto your lips, “I guess there’s worse faces to wake up next to every day.”

It was Calum’s turn to attempt to swat at you, “It wouldn’t be  _ every _ day, more like a period of time every couple months.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to ignore the sadness that crept in at his words. He must miss home, even if he’s out on the road living his dream. Calum doesn’t get to see his dog, or his roommate, or you for that matter that much while he’s away, unless you were to go visit him which rarely happens.

Before you were able to get out another remark, your food arrived and Calum smiled at you. The boyish, charming smile he’s had since the moment you met him as he said softly, “Happy birthday.”

After a night full of laughter, full stomachs, and a slightly tipsy Uber ride, the two of you managed to put the sheets on your bed, giggling the whole time. Once you laid in bed beside him, he tugged you closer, as he had done many times before. It was never hard to imagine Calum as boyfriend material; he was a very tactile person and he loved to cuddle, press light kisses on your forehead, or wrap his arms around you when he located you in a party. What was hard though, was imagining him as happy husband material - you didn’t want him to end up resenting you because the two of you got married when he could find the person he truly wanted to be with.

Calum could sense that you were tense, and he squeezed his arm around you to get your attention, “What’s going through your mind, love?” He asked, brushing against your forehead.

“Nothing, I’m good,” You lied, placing your hand over his and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“You know you’re a bad liar, right?” Calum chuckled, moving to sit up more. “C’mon, talk to me, I’m all ears.”

“Just…” You sighed, turning over so that you could face him, “What if this doesn’t work out? What if we completely fuck up any sense of friendship we have?”

Calum’s face fell, moving his hand up to cup your face, “What are you thinking won’t work out? Even if it starts to fall apart, I’d wanna save what we have.”

“What if you meet your soulmate? You’ve talked for so long about how you’ve done so much self reflection that you think you’re prepared to welcome your soulmate into your life. Which makes me so, so happy, but I don’t want to stand in the way of that for you. I absolutely love you, and want you to be the most happy.” Tears were brimming in your eyes as you looked away from Calum, squeezing his hand.

Calum grew quiet for a moment, his breathing even and calm that you thought he may have fallen asleep. That was, until he kissed your forehead, speaking softly, “How about we cross that bridge if we ever come to it, yeah? The same could be said for you, darlin’. You take the time to think, because I’m absolutely sure this is what I want, and I want the same for you.”

The reassuring tone of his voice relaxed you slightly, but you knew that you’d definitely come to that bridge at some point. You were certain it’d happen for Calum rather than you. It was effortless to love Calum, as easy as breathing, and someone else was certain to see that. But nevertheless, you gave him a small nod and a sigh before he pulled you back to his chest, this time with you facing him rather than away from him so he could press gentle kisses into your shoulder until you fell asleep.

The next morning you told Calum that this is what you want, but only if he’s certain. After reassuring you that he was indeed certain, you began to work to plan the wedding - mostly just booking flights and a hotel room to Vegas, because Calum decided that if you were going to elope you would do it “in style”. In style basically meant his ultimate goal was to get married by a Cher impersonator. When you asked why, he simply said, “Not only is Cher iconic, but she was fantastic in the second Mamma Mia.” With that logic, how could you say no?

Picking out an outfit was going to be the hardest part in your mind; you weren’t sure what Calum was thinking of wearing, if you both wanted to dress up, or if it was more of a casual event. You had a couple options to choose from, but you felt like maybe you should go shopping for something Calum hadn’t seen before.

It had been hard to keep the impending nuptials from the boys, so once Calum eventually came clean about your plans, it became easier to pick their brains about what to wear. You went back and forth with Ashton about an outfit, trying to sneak around to plan something absolutely perfect to surprise Calum.

You had finally found the perfect opportunity to go out with Ashton without Calum being suspicious, so you decided to make a day of it. Walking about the first store, Ashton trailed behind you, a nervous energy radiating off of him. You tried to ignore it, but the way he worried at his lower lip caused you to turn around finally to face him, his chest bumping against yours as he wasn’t expecting you to stop.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, furrowing your eyebrows up at him. 

“What? Nothing’s wrong, love,” Ashton replied, offering a smile that definitely didn’t reach his eyes.

“Then why do you look like a scared chihuahua?”

Ashton huffed at the comparison, brushing raven curls out of his face, “You’re sure this is what you want, yeah?” Your expression fell ever so slightly, prompting Ashton to place his hands on your arms, scrambling to follow-up his question, “I’m sorry. I just…” He trailed off, sighing softly.

“What Ashton? Spit it out.”

“I just don’t want Calum to be hurt,” The words escaped his mouth before he really could find the best way to put it. “I would never think that you would hurt him on purpose. He’s just been so excited, and you seem so hesitant, I just want to be sure this is something you want before you go through with it.”

Your expression softened, a soft smile on your lips, “He’s been excited?”

Ashton nodded, chewing on his lower lip, “He’s been preparing some fun things for you guys to do while you’re in Vegas, special dinner plans. Calum’s also been worried about what he’ll wear too, though he’d never tell you that.”

Your heart melted more and more at what Ashton was telling you, cocking your head to the side, “Really?” You gave a small sigh, leaning your hand against the clothing rack, “I don’t want to hurt him either, Ash, I don’t.”

“Why do I sense there is a ‘but’ coming?”

“There isn’t a but, not really. I’m just scared, Ashton. Calum doesn’t deserve to settle, I don’t  _ want _ him to settle. What if we get married, and he meets someone a month who he’s meant to be with?” Your voice was just above a whisper, hoping to not disturb other customers in the store. 

Ashton nodded, his eyes not leaving your face the whole time, mirroring your pose of leaning on the clothes rack, ever the active listener. “Alright, but hear me out…” He trailed off, standing up straighter as if that would drive his point he was about to make home, “What if he’s not settling? What if… What if he’s wanted this, and just didn’t know how to tell you?”

You frowned, draping the clothing items over your arm that you had intended to try on, “He would have told me by now, no?”

Ashton let out a heavy sigh, drooping his head down, “I don’t know if there’s anything more I could say that would sway your feelings one way or the other, nor do I want to, because this is about you and Calum. Just… do me a favour, and don’t wait until last minute if you decide this isn’t something that you want. As I said, I don’t want him to be hurt… Bros before book marriage pact and all that.”

At his words, you couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, “I promise you that I won’t. I don’t want to hurt him either.”

“Pinky promise?” He asked, raising his pinky to you.

You laughed again, linking your pinky with his, “I pinky promise.”

That satisfied Ashton enough for the two of you to move on with your shopping adventure, him choosing to not stop until you found the perfect outfit. You thought you looked good in it, but Ashton’s teasing whistle as you walked out to show him really sold it, the both of you deciding that was the one before calling it a day.

You opted out of dinner with Ashton, saying you’d rather go home and finish unpacking finally. You had left your books for last, wanting to give them the proper time and appreciation to organize them all.

Though, when you got home, you were startled by Calum standing at your bookshelf, the smell of Pledge invading your senses.

“Cal, what are you--” You paused when your eyes landed on the bookshelf behind him, noticing that the boxes they had previously been in had been collapsed and set aside, your books placed neatly on the shelf, “Did you put my books away?”

Calum gave you a sheepish smile, abandoning the rag he had been using to dust on the shelf and tentatively making his way towards you, “I uh-- I did. I can rearrange them if it’s not how you like. I’ve just had some down time since we all finished the album last week, and you’ve been so busy with--”

You cut him off by wrapping your arms around him, burying your face into his neck, “Thank you.” It was a whisper, but he still wound his arms around you in response.

“I just know mess stresses you out,” He lightly teased, “Can’t have you stressed for our big day.”

You laughed as you pulled away, smacking your hand against his chest, “You stress me out every day, Hood.”

Calum gave you a cheeky smile, leaning in closer to your face, “Well I guess it’s like we’re already married then, huh?”

Ashton apparently had told Calum you were on your way home, so Calum took it upon himself to order takeout for the two of you. The night was spent watching the Great British Bake-off, your legs resting in Calum’s lap as you recounted your shopping day with Ashton. Your conversation was light, your head leaned against the back of the couch as you admired him, thinking how you could get used to this - the way he got excited about someone pulling off a pastry at the last second, his critique of someones plating job, or the way he giggled when a contestant that he didn’t like had their pastry fall.

“What are you starin’ at?” Calum asked, pulling you from your thoughts.

“Just wondering how you could go through almost 25 years of life and never notice when you get sauce on your face, come here,” You motioned his face closer to you, playfully licking your thumb and rubbing it against his cheek, laughing at the way his face scrunched up at the feeling, “Get used to it, buddy.”

Calum just huffed, shifting so he was now laying on top of you, his head resting against your chest, “As long as you get used to this.”

“You did this even before we decided to get married, this is nothing new love.”

You both ended up falling asleep like that, his cheek squished against you, snoring softly. 

**

The last couple days leading up to your departure were uneventful; the boys decided that you would need more than just one witness to your wedding, so they invited themselves, though they promised to stay out of the way of whatever Calum had planned for you guys to do. 

Before you could leave for the airport, Luke showed up to your apartment with what he decided would be your airport attire. He was wearing a shirt that read ‘ _ My friends are eloping _ ’, and when he unfolded your shirt, you saw that it read ‘ _ I’m the elopee’ _ .

“Elop _ ee _ ? Really, Luke?” You chuckled, taking the shirt from his hands.

Luke gave you a small pout, looking down at his shirt, “I thought it was cute!”

His pout pulled at your heart strings, feeling a bit bad for teasing him, “It is cute! I just thought you would have had something more poetic being a world famous songwriter and all.”

Luke smiled, smacking your shoulder before going to reach for your suitcase by the door, “Alright, go get changed and we’ll get you paired up with your other love bird and we can flock off to Vegas.”

“Oh my God, you need writing privileges taken away!”

Luke’s puppy dog eyes must have worked wonders on Calum, because when you arrived at the airport, he was wearing the shirt and looking rather put out about it. You couldn’t help but grin at the sight of the other two boys sporting their shirts proudly, and you could vaguely overhear them bickering about who gets to be the best man.

“Shouldn’t you all have figured out a long time ago the best man rotation?” You spoke as you approached them.

Michael tossed an arm over your shoulder, giving you a small smile, “We did… But Ash over here is trying to change the way things go. He just wants to have a reason to talk to the Cher impersonator.”

“I just think they're so cool! Like, yes please serenade me with  _ Believe _ while my two best friends share their first dance as a married couple!” Ashton argued, taking your carry-on bag from you.

“You do know that there won’t be a dance, right? This isn’t your typical wedding,” You rested your head on Michael’s shoulder, sparing glances at Calum who always seemed to be doing the same.

“Says who? You really think you were gonna get married and we weren’t going to force a first dance on the two of you?”

You didn’t get a chance to argue back, because a voice came over the P.A. system to announce that your flight to Las Vegas was now boarding.

All at once, the nerves crept back up on you, the reality of what you were about to do finally settling in. The only thing grounding you, ironically, was the feeling of Calum’s warm hand in yours throughout the flight, the scent of his cologne tickling your nose in a pleasant way. You wondered what kind of thoughts were going through Calum’s head at that moment; was he as worried as you? He always had a calm demeanour about him, another trait you adored… But you wondered if you looked at him at the right time, if you would catch a nervous tick of his jaw, or worry his lower lip between his teeth. There was nothing though, just his hand in yours, and his warm brown eyes meeting yours every so often, lighting up when you gave him a smile.

The flight overall was smooth, not much ruckus being caused by the boys who were seated across the aisle from you and Calum. When you landed, Calum insisted on grabbing your carry-on and his, despite your protests.

Getting an Uber, Lyft, or even a Taxi was the most difficult part of your travels; It seemed that no cars big enough were available to take all of you, and the cars that were, were too far away for all of you to arrive at the same time.

“You two go ahead, we can take the next car available,” Luke gave a nod towards the app, seeing there could be a car there within 2 minutes.

"How about I go with Ashton, and you go with Michael and Luke? Then we can have some formality of the groom arriving before me,” You laughed, words teasing but laced with a secret ploy to get Ashton alone so you could get one last pep talk.

Hesitation lingers in his movements before Calum nods, gently resting his hand at the back of your neck so he could pull you closer and leave one last kiss on your forehead.

"You do know that we’ll see one another at the hotel right? But if that’s what will make you happy, I’m all for it." He agrees with a wink, following Michael as he instantly starts climbing in the taxi.

"See you guys there!" Ashton calls, both of you standing and watching as the car leaves before heading to your own a few feet away.

"You doing okay?" Ashton asks, suspicion churning as your nervous energy reached a new peak.

“Fantastic,” you reply sarcastically, shoving your hands into your pockets as you worried at your lower lip.

“What’s going on? Talk to me.”

“It’s all just starting to feel real, you know? I’m just panicking a little,” you breathed as the second car finally pulled up, Ashton grabbing your bags and putting them in the trunk while you slid into the car.

Once you both were in the car, Ashton placed his hand on your knee, “Be honest with me, are you gonna bail? Are you rethinking this?”

“I’m not gonna bail, I just don’t ever know if I’m gonna be convinced that I’m good enough for him. That’s what I think is making me panic.”

“Okay, but hear me out- I want your self love to be through the roof, sure, and it’s okay that it’s not right now. But as long as Calum believes you’re enough for him, isn’t that what you want?” Ashton asked quietly, meeting your eyes. 

“I- Yes, I guess so. But does he believe I’m good enough for him?” 

“Maybe that’s a conversation you should have with him. I can’t tell you what’s going on in his head and his heart; I just know how genuinely excited he is to marry you, and the look he gets when you’re around, or someone talks about you,” Ashton gave you a cheeky grin, squeezing your knee before letting it go.

“I will- I just don’t want him to think I’m gonna just up and leave.”

Before you knew it, you were out front of the hotel. You gave Ashton a nervous glance as he paid for the cab, hopping out to grab the bags so you could head inside. Taking a deep breath, you followed behind Ashton, wheeling your luggage inside. You stopped dead in your tracks though when you saw Calum leaned against the check-in desk, wearing a wide smile as he talked to the drop dead gorgeous front desk clerk. It would have been fine if you hadn’t witnessed them slide a small piece of paper across the desk to him, and him tuck it into his pocket before he turned to walk away. 

Your throat was dry, panic seeping in once again as you turned and walked right out of the front doors of the hotel, leaving behind your luggage. Ashton called your name, followed by Calum calling your name, but you didn’t turn back. You knew you had to find somewhere that wasn’t crowded with people, just so you could collect your thoughts; but you knew that would prove difficult in a place like Las Vegas. Nevertheless, you ran, you ran until you came across a small alleyway that you could duck into. As you rested your back against the wall, you tried to catch your breath; your worst fears were coming true, and you didn’t think it would hurt as much as it did--

“Hey,” Ashton’s soft voice pulled you from your thoughts. You hadn’t realized how hard you were panting until the world shifted back into focus, your eyes met Ashton’s wide hazel ones, “Did you run track in high school? Because damn.”

“Ashton, this isn’t the time for jokes,” You breathed, trying to swallow the thickness in your throat, pushing back tears, “This is exactly what I thought would happen.”

“What do you mean?”

Looking behind Ashton, you met Calum’s eyes - soft, warm, full of concern. You could tell he had been running after you as well because of the way his shoulders moved. Ashton stepped to the side, ducking his head while he muttered ‘I’ll let you two talk’.

Calum was in front of you then, large hands cupping your face and bringing you to meet his eyes once again, “Talk to me, please.”

“I just… I’ve said from the beginning, you’d find someone else. You’ve been single for a long time, it was bound to happen that when you made the decision to marry me that you would find who you’d actually want.” You could hardly choke back the tears that were brimming in your eyes now, looking down and away from the eyes you adored so much.

  
“Who says I wanted them?” Calum asked, his tone laced with confusion.

“You took their number,” You sighed, resting your hands on his forearms, “It’s okay Calum, we can all just have a fun weekend in Vegas and forget this ever happened.”

“They gave me the number of the line to call to get better deals on tickets for a Cher impersonator concert. Ashton was so determined to go to a Cher concert so we wanted to make it happen for him…” Calum trailed off, taking his hands off your face, sticking his hand in his pocket so he could show you the slip of paper. Written on it was a phone number, and instructions of the person to ask for to inquire about said tickets. “And do you know  _ why  _ I’ve been single for so long?”

You couldn’t help but let out a sad, soft laugh; You felt ridiculous, but Calum tilted your chin up so you could look at him, his expression was suddenly more serious. “Why have you been single for so long?”

“Because the one person I want, the person who I believe is my soulmate…” He trailed off, waiting for you to connect the dots, “Has been in a relationship this whole time.”

You looked up suddenly, meeting his eyes once again, “What?”

Calum sighed, giving a soft chuckle, “You still don’t get it do you?” He cupped your cheeks once more, pressing his forehead against yours, “ _ You _ are the one I want. You are the one I’ve always wanted. Ever since we were kids, ever since we wrote that silly note- I’ve hoped that we would just end up together. When you started dating that idiot, I assumed it was just going to be a fling, that I could wait it out for that long. But then, you moved in with him back in Australia… Then you moved to  _ America _ with him, an even bigger commitment, and I thought I lost my chance with you for good.”

You shook your head, Calum swiping the tears from under your eyes as he continued, “Now here we are. I know this is a big commitment, especially considering you just got out of a long term relationship. But I want you to know, I  _ need _ you to know that I will wait; I would wait a hundred years for you. You are my soulmate, and I’ve known that since we were kids. I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up.”

You laughed again, a full, hearty laugh this time. Calum looked a little hurt, that is until you cupped his face in return and pulled him in, brushing your lips against his. He took the plunge and kissed you fully, his lips warm and soft against yours, better than you had ever imagined that they would be. It was crazy to think that you had exchanged many cheek, forehead, top of the head kisses in your time as friends, but never actually kissed.

He was smiling brightly when he pulled away, brushing the last few stray tears from your face as he did so, “Okay?”

“You coulda saved some of that for your vows you know,” You teased, brushing your nose against his with a cheeky grin on your face, “I love you, you know that?”

Calum pecks your lips again, the crinkles by his eyes becoming more prominent, “I kind of figured. Like I said, just been waitin’ for you to catch up. I love you too, you know.”

“Fuckin’ finally!” 

The two of you turned your head at the same time to see Ashton peering around the wall, his toothy grin visible. He stepped around the corner, shoving his hands in his pockets, “I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I had told you how he felt. But I was trying to push you towards it because he wouldn’t shut up about you.”

Calum narrowed his eyes at his best friend, shushing him, “I’m sorry my pining was annoying to you.”

“Not annoying, never said annoying. Just wanted you to seize the opportunity while you had it.” Ashton laughed, running his fingers through his hair, “Can we go to our rooms now? I’m beat and wanna take a nap before dinner.”

Calum nodded, going to pull you with him so you could start walking back, but you paused, “I wanna talk to Ash for a second, only good things I promise.” Calum gave you a puzzled look at first, but smiled and gave you a kiss before he began the short walk back to the hotel. 

Ashton stepped closer to you, a frown on his lips, “All good things you said?”

You smiled, nodding before you spoke, “I want you to stand up there with me tomorrow. On my side,” you said softly.

Ashton’s big toothy grin returns to his face, “I’m gonna be your best man?!”

“I mean you are… A Man… I don’t know if I’d say you were the best, but.”

“Okay rude, that’s not the way to get me by your side you know,” Ashton feigned offence, placing his hand over his heart.

“Fine! Yes you’re my best man. Then Michael can be Calum’s—“

“What about Luke?”

“I was getting there! He can be the flower girl.”

Ashton slid an arm around your shoulder, “Alright, that sounds fair to me.”

Luke and Michael were on board with the plan for the next day, Luke was excited to be the flower girl, quickly looking up the nearest Michael’s so he could go gather flowers. You wondered at first why he didn’t want to get fresh flowers, but he informed you that he wanted the flowers to last forever, to be a perfect memory of a perfect day. 

The rest of your evening was eventful to say the least, not like you expected anything less from the group of men you were surrounded by. Calum managed to get the tickets last minute to a Cher impersonator; It wasn’t as fantastic as Cher herself of course, but the way his and Ashton’s eyes lit up as they sang along and danced was good enough for you. 

When you all got back to the hotel, Michael stepped in between you and Calum as he leaned in to kiss you, “Excuse me you two, but we must separate you now. Traditions and all that,” Michael teased, looking between you.

“At least let me kiss him goodnight!” You gasped, peering around Michael to see Calum’s pout.

“Nope, next time you kiss is gonna be when you’re married officially!” Michael took Calum’s hand, tugging him towards the elevators, Luke giving you a small shrug and a grin, kissing your cheek before following behind them.

“Are you going with them, or are you gonna help me get ready tomorrow?” You asked, turning to face Ashton.

“You’re stuck with me, sorry to say,” Ashton smiled, tugging you towards the elevators as well once the others had gone.

You looked at yourself in the mirror when you got back to the room and hardly recognized yourself. A couple of months ago you were heartbroken, having to move into an apartment by yourself and have to accept the fact that you were navigating a new country virtually by yourself. On that same day though, your childhood best friend decided that you should honor the piece of paper you signed when you were 8, so now you were getting married, and you could navigate this new country a little less alone.

“You alright?” Ashton asked as he knocked on the door. 

“Better than ever, actually,” You answered honestly, opening the door and leaning against the frame, “I just wanted him to be sure about this, never expected he’d be this sure,” You couldn’t help but chuckle softly, rubbing your eyes as you were tired.

“You should have seen his reaction when you started dating your ex,” Ashton leaned against the wall opposite the bathroom, tucking his arms behind his back, “He had been planning to tell you. The night you brought your ex to dinner to meet all of us, he was planning to tell you.”

You frowned, wrapping your arms around yourself, “I had no idea he even felt that way.”

“He knows, and he didn’t blame you for that. Calum has loved you for years, and he always said he couldn’t blame you for not seeing past his golden retriever qualities that made him a great best friend.”

“They always say your best friend makes the best partner though, so maybe I should have seen it,” You smiled.

“Would have saved me a lot of headache trying to get you to realize it, that’s for sure. Now, let's get you to bed because you’re getting married tomorrow.”

Ashton ushered you into bed, making a grand show of tucking you in and kissing your forehead goodnight while you rolled your eyes. You fell asleep quickly, feeling more like you blinked rather than actually fell asleep. 

Before you knew it, your alarm was going off and it was time for you to get up and shower. Prior to leaving for Vegas, you thought you would wake up the morning of your wedding feeling tense, your neck sore and giving you a headache. Instead, you felt like you were in a dream; you could still feel the ghost of the last place he kissed you on your skin, and you smiled at the feeling, rubbing your fingers against your cheek. Drying off, you took your time applying moisturizer to your skin, grabbing a robe to wrap around you so you didn’t have to get entirely dressed yet as you and Ashton ate breakfast.

When you exited the bathroom, Ashton was pulling in a cart from room service. “There’s a note attached to this,” He announced, picking up the note, “It’s addressed to you.”

‘ _ I know you’ve always celebrated big moments with chocolate chip pancakes, so I put in a special request for you to have them this morning. I love you, and I’ll see you in a couple of hours. _ ’

You smiled, your cheeks already aching from the amount of smiling you had done just that morning. Handing the note back to Ashton so he could read it while you thanked the person who delivered the food, shutting the door and lifting the lid to the plates to see two large stacks of chocolate chip pancakes.

It was quiet, not much conversation happening between you and Ashton over breakfast, but not much needed to be said. You were both excited, of course you more so than him. But the excitement was palpable nonetheless. 

When it came time for you to get ready, Ashton grabbed your outfit and helped you get into it. When the last button was done up, you smoothed your hands over yourself, looking in the mirror. 

“You look great, stunning even,” Ashton whispered, meeting your eyes through the mirror, “Calum’s not gonna know what hit him.”

You hushed Ashton, shoving his shoulder with a small smile. No sooner had Ashton gotten himself ready was there another knock at the door, making the two of you jump. Opening the door, you saw Luke standing on the other side, bouquet of flowers in his hand, with a pink carnation tucked behind his ear.

“A bouquet?” You gasped, taking the flowers into your hands, “you know when we said you were the flower girl I don’t know if this is what we meant,” you chuckled, stepping aside so he could come in.

“Calum also has a bouquet, because he deserves flowers too,” Luke said in a matter of fact tone, leaning against the door and taking in your appearance, “You look amazing. Damn, you guys are out here being the hottest couple, huh?”

“Shut up.”

“I’m serious! I thought Cal looked good but,” he gave a low whistle, a teasing grin on his lips, “You ready? It’s almost time.”

You rolled your eyes at him, anxiously plucking at the petals in your bouquet, “Are we doing too much? I feel like most people just go to Vegas and have a quickie marriage.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of people who do it this way. Weddings are expensive, sometimes flights and hotels aren’t. Plus you get a little bit of a Honeymoon as well,” Luke smiled, offering you his arm, “It’s not every day people get to marry their best friend, you know?”

You looped your arm through his, reaching your hand back for Ashton who was in charge of all of your essentials and his own. “I guess so, I just didn’t want to waste time that could be spent marrying more people or whatever.”

Luke shrugged his shoulders, tugging the door open with a smile, “Dunno if Cher will care that much.”

You gave a soft laugh, following him out of the door and tugging Ashton with you. When you reached the lobby, you noticed Ashton deflated a little when he looked towards the front desk and you had to wonder that if in your panic yesterday, Ashton took notice of the beautiful front desk person too - only, it meant something different to him.

“You okay Ash?” It was your turn to ask him now, and your voice pulled him from his thoughts, meeting your eyes with a bright smile.

  
“All good, wonderin’ why you aren’t moving any faster.”

You narrowed your eyes, vowing you would get the answer out of him sooner or later. The ride to the little chapel was short, you spent most of that time trying to adjust the flower in Luke’s hair so it sat just right, also placing a flower in Ashton’s hair for the added effect. 

“I’m glad to see your nerves have dissipated,” Ashton murmured once you finished tucking the flower into his hair.

“It helps to know that he’s not gonna run away with Cher.”

“The day’s still young,” Luke chimed in, nudging your shoulder as the taxi pulled up to the chapel. 

Once the taxi was paid for, the three of you slid out of the car, walking up the short path to the chapel. Chewing on your lower lip, you reached for the door handle, eager to go see Calum who was waiting just on the other side.

You walked inside, eyes immediately searching for him. When they landed on him, a smile instantly grew on your lips as he stood with his back to you, Michael seeming to make him laugh about something. 

As you approached, you made eye contact with Michael, who took in your appearance and bit his lip to contain his own smile. Tapping on Calum’s shoulder, he hesitated for a moment before turning around to see you. You hadn’t realized how in a matter of 12 hours or so, you had fallen so deep for him that the moments you spent apart from him made you miss him, more than you had before; or maybe the feelings you always had, had finally moved to the surface.

Nevertheless, when you saw him it felt like the air left your lungs; His hair had been perfectly coiffed, or at least in a way you could still see the curls you adored. The warm brown eyes you knew so well were alight, paired with the bright, beautiful smile he was giving you. Wrapping his arms around your waist, he pulled you in for a hug, mindful of the boys imposed no kissing rule to try and avoid them yelling at him.

“Wow,” Calum whispered when he pulled back, “You look… So stunning. I’m just.. At a loss for words.”

You huffed, cupping his cheeks, “Shush. You look stunning. Can’t wait to marry you.”

The group of you sat while you waited for your number to be called, your fingers laced with Calum’s as you chatted idly.

“ _ Hood _ , the pair of you are up,” A man called, waving you into the room. 

Your group stood, Ashton pulling you ahead of them to stand at the front, ignoring your confused protests at first until he made you turn around and watch. You looked on with amusement as Luke made his way down the aisle, tossing pink rose petals every few steps, the biggest grin on his lips, as if this was what he was meant to do his whole life. It made you giggle, that was until your eyes landed on the two men behind him; Calum was being walked down the aisle by Michael, arms interlocked, the bouquets that were made by Luke being held in their free hands as they did so.

When Calum made his way to the end, you were back into a fit of giggles and he offered a simple shrug, “What? You’re the only one who gets to have a flair for dramatics?”

You placed your hand on his cheek, wanting nothing more than to kiss him; But you’d be married in just a few short moments, and then you’d have the rest of time to be able to kiss him.

The Cher impersonator folded their hands in front of them, the glitter from their dress reflecting off of the lights and shining onto the walls as they shifted from one foot to another, “I must say, this is the most entertaining ceremony I’ve officiated all day, and that’s saying something because this is Vegas… So if you don’t mind I’m going to change up my script a little,” Their eyes scanned over the two of you, landing on Ashton standing behind you and tossing him a wink, “I’d like to thank you, first and foremost for being here today, and allowing me to officiate the wedding. The fact that you’ve travelled all this way, and are still standing here through your hardships, shows the incredible amount of love and tenderness you both share for one another.”

You met Calum’s eyes, sharing a smile with him as you laced your fingers with his, giving his fingers a squeeze.

“The hands you are holding, these are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. A lot of the people that come through here, I’m not one to judge, but they are a quickie marriage, done in haste because their parents weren’t supportive of their union; But you two, well, I can feel the love radiating off of you both. When I look at the two of you, I can actually believe true love exists, and that’s a beautiful thing. Enough about what I see, though, would you two like to exchange the boring old vows, or have you written your own?”

“We’ve written our own,” Calum’s hoarse voice replied, a soft sniffle coming from him.

You had been trying to hold back your happy tears, but seeing Calum’s own eyes brim with tears didn’t help you, “Do you want to go first or me?” You laughed, wiping at your face.

“I’ll let you go,” He replied, bringing his hand up to brush against your cheek.

“Yeah, yeah, you just wanna upstage me cause you’re a fancy songwriter.”

“Songwriter? Ooo,” The Cher impersonator whistled, giving Calum a once over teasingly, but their eyes were back on Ashton’s before long, which brought out a laugh from you.

“Okay well, here goes…” You trailed off, turning back to Calum, “The first time I met you… You were reading Clifford the Big Red Dog under the tree in the playground, and when I asked you why, do you remember what you said?” You asked, a teasing grin on your lips.

Calum squinted at you, his smile matching yours, “Because Michael told me that the dog in the book was named after him and I wanted to be a supportive friend.”

Michael snorted at the memory, covering his mouth to suppress a further giggle.

“And I thought… this kid is absolutely ridiculous, I need to be his friend,” You shook your head, squeezing his fingers again, “As time went on, we became inseparable. Though we had to split time with Michael, but you’re my best friend. Always have been, and you always will be. Slowly but surely, I fell in love with you; I never would have admitted it to you back then, both for my own sense of pride, and because you were going to chase your dreams. When you left Australia to pursue your dreams I was… Angry with you, I was, at first at least. I knew this is what you were meant to do, I always knew you’d be a giant rockstar - I was just angry because it felt like you left me behind. And then I got into that relationship that brought me here, brought me back to you years later. It’s funny how fate has a way of bringing us back together; how it made me find the paper in Bridge to Terabithia that we signed years ago, and lead us here. Calum, my heart belongs to you and it always has… Always will. You’ll always be that boy that read Clifford the Big Red Dog to be a supportive friend, you’ll always be the man who called me every day of his first tour to tell me the new sights he saw, even at 4 in the morning, and you will always be the man who has made me feel the most like myself when I’m with you, because I’m not afraid to be myself around you. I’m so excited to get to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

Calum sniffled again, and you brought your hand up to wipe his tears away, him catching your hand to press a kiss to your palm, ignoring the protests from the boys about not kissing, “And you think I’m trying to show  _ you _ up.”

He took a moment to collect himself, shaking his head with a laugh at the memory. “Well, I already said a lot of what I wanted to say to you yesterday but… You’ve always been my future, even though you didn’t know it. My best friend… Sorry Michael - my best friend, my soulmate. I didn’t realize how much I loved you really until I left. While I was off chasing my dreams, you were chasing your own, and it killed me every day that you weren’t beside me, seeing the new sights, and watching us build this thing from the ground up. It also killed me that I couldn’t do the same for you, to be here to support you. And yeah, this is gonna be hard - I’m gonna be away a lot, and seeing sights without you sometimes, but you’ll always be right here,” He lifted your hand to his heart, “Everything I’ve done, everything I’m going to do, is for you. You inspire me every day, you push me to be my best self, to be a better man. I love you so much, I adore you and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

You bit your lip, the tears freely flowing down your face as the Cher impersonator cleared their throat, “You’re gonna ruin my botox,” they joked, fanning at their eyes to keep from crying themselves. “Are there rings to exchange?”

Ashton and Michael both jumped at that moment, pulling the rings from their pockets and passing them to you and Calum respectively.

“Okay, repeat after me-” They began, looking between you, “ With this ring I thee wed- and with it I bestow all of the treasures of my mind, heart and hands.”

You and Calum took turns repeating it, sliding the rings onto each others fingers. You were giddy with excitement, knowing that you reached the end of the ceremony and you’d get to kiss your new husband.

“Alright you crazy kids, by the power vested in me, by the state of Nevada, I pronounce you as married. You may kiss,” Cher made a grand gesture as they spoke the final words, the two of you already throwing your arms around each other before they had even finished their sentence.

Kissing Calum was a foreign concept to you, but each and every time it felt like coming home. Familiar, soft, warm lips greeted yours enthusiastically, while you were met with cheers from around you.

“Let's get out of here and let some other people get married,” You laughed, tugging on Calum’s hand so you could exit at the side door like all the other couples had.

The rest of the day felt surreal; you all took a double decker bus tour around Vegas, taking in all the cheesy tourist sites. You were glued to Calum’s side, your hand never leaving his as you two basked in your newlywed glow. This was the last thing you thought you’d be feeling after your wedding, but then again if Calum hadn’t given you that speech yesterday, he could have laid all his feelings out today to you and you’d be in the same situation.

As the sun began to set, you were all outside at the patio of the hotel, dopey grins on all of your faces.

“There’s one thing left to do, my friends,” Ashton began, pulling his phone from his pocket, “Is have your first dance.”

“Ash,” Calum laughed, “We’re not gonna dance here, plus we don’t have the mu-”

He was cut off by the sounds of ‘Believe’ by Cher playing from the speakers on his phone, Calum shaking his head with another laugh.

“We can’t dance to this!”

“Not with  _ that _ attitude!” Ashton argued, pulling your hand so you were standing, following by grabbing Calum’s so he was standing beside you.

Calum pulled you into his embrace, “You heard the man, we gotta dance,” he grinned, beginning to sway you back and forth with him. 

You rolled your eyes teasingly, resting your head on Calum’s shoulder as you took his hand, swaying with him.

“Ashton, are you gonna get that Cher impersonators number or what? I think they’re also the front desk person here. Or you just get two numbers from here and see who pans out, because both of them have been making eyes at you this whole time,” You peeked over Calum’s shoulder at Ashton, who was blushing already.

“Maybe, but shut up. This is about you guys right now.”

Once your dance was over, the people around you cheered, encouraging you to share a kiss. You received many congratulations from the other people on the patio, and they all asked the hotel staff to play some music over the speakers, so the rest of them could join in on the dancing, and you could all dance the night away.

“I love you,” You whispered, meeting Calum’s warm gaze, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

“I love you more,” He smiled, leaning in to kiss you gently.

“Not possible.”


End file.
